A perfect 3-for-3 to start the month

It looks like most of the companies in my portfolio – at least the ones that pay quarterly dividends in October – are trying to get their payments knocked out early. More than a quarter of them have already dished them out … and we’re just three days into the month.

Here’s a look at the two that paid me Tuesday …

Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark (KMB), one of the first companies I added to my portfolio, paid me a $0.97 dividend for the one share I own. It was my fourth payment from the company.

With staples like diapers (Huggies) and tissues (Kleenex), the company’s website says its brands touch nearly one of every four people globally every single day. That’s pretty impressive. Aside from selling something ridiculous, like air – something every single person needs every second of every day to survive – its tough to think of a company with a bigger reach. Kimberly-Clark is everywhere and, despite earnings per share slipping 4.49% last quarter vs. the same quarter the prior year, it isn’t going anywhere.

The share price, meanwhile, has been going somewhere: down. It’s slumped more than 9% over the course of the last three months and, well, I’m almost positive I’ll add to my position if it slips much further.

Kimberly-Clark has a really solid dividend. The yield is good (3.36%), the payout ratio is sustainable (62.4%) and it has been growing its dividend for 44 consecutive years. Couple that with the fact it’s more than 15% off its 52-week high and you have exactly the type of stock I like to buy.

Telus

Telus (TU), a Canadian telecommunications company, passed a $0.39 dividend payment my way. It was my second from the company. The first, for $0.38, came back in July.

The company seems a bit pricey right now, so I probably won’t be adding to my position anytime soon. It is trading pretty close to its 52-week high of $36.94 and has a P/E ratio of 21.53. In the meantime, though, I’m just going to hold onto my one share and its solid 4.38% yield.

Feel free to check out my post from Monday if you missed it. Otherwise, have a great night.